Canada intends to lift all visa restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens as of December 1, 2017, Immigration Minister John McCallum (photo) said in a statement on Monday, as quoted by Reuters.
The Canadian Government reserves its right reintroduce visas for Romania and Bulgaria in case of “strong rises of the illegal immingration trends”.
For a start, Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who had received a temporary residence visa in the past 10 years or have a valid visa for the USA will be able to go to Canada without visa as of December 1, 2017, based on an electronic travel permit. The request for such a permit can be filed online, in just several minutes, and the authorization costs seven Canadian dollars. The permit is electronically linked to the passport, is valid five years and if the passport validity expires earlier, the permit is valid until the passport expires.
According to McCallum, Canada is closely collaborating with Romania and Bulgaria and will keep on collaborating to ensure that the visa waiver will be sustainable and a long-term move.
Both Romania and Canada had pressed for an end to the rules in return for approving a landmark free trade deal between Canada and the European Union.